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CHICAGO (Reuters Health) - Stereoscopic digital mammography, which gives a 3-dimensional view of the inner structures of the breast, cuts the number of falsely diagnosed tumors in half, compared with conventional mammography, researchers reported here this week.

Preliminary results with stereoscopic digital mammography were described at the meeting of the Radiological Society of North America by one of its developers, Dr. David J. Getty of BBN Technologies of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The technique involves capturing two images 6 to 10 degrees apart that are cross-polarized and then superimposed, in much the same way as two images are used to create 3-D movies.

"Two-dimensional imaging masks subtle lesions," Getty explained. "With 3-D mammography, this is greatly reduced. Lesions can be seen as lying at different depths."

In the study, 1,093 women referred for evaluation of suspected breast cancer were each examined with conventional mammography and the stereoscopic digital technique.

There were 259 abnormalities detected with one or both approaches, with 109 true positives and 150 false positives. Compared with conventional mammography, stereoscopic digital imaging reduced the false-positive rate by 49 percent.

"A 15 percent drop would have been a significant reduction, so this is a highly statistically significant finding," Getty said. "It cuts the false-positive rate in half, resulting in fewer patient recalls, less anxiety and less cost."

Data on approximately 1500 women are expected to be analyzed by the end of the year, at which point the trial will be complete.

Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - US researchers argue that the growth in the number of CT scans performed over the years has increased the likelihood of higher radiation exposures, which may result in a significant public health problem.

In the article, in this week's New England Journal of Medicine, Drs. David J. Brenner and Eric J. Hall, from Columbia University Medical Center in New York, discuss the radiation dose in CT scans -- which use x-rays -- the biologic effect of low doses of ionizing radiation, and the risks of CT use.

The authors raise the possibility that the risks of cancer from CT scans may have been underestimated or overlooked in the past. This is concerning because many of the scans performed in the US are probably not medically necessary, they add.

According to the article, more than 62 million CT scans are now performed annually in the US. That compares to only 3 million scans in 1980.

This increase in CT usage is largely responsible for the near doubling of the average personal radiation exposure that occurred during the same period.

Brenner and Hall note that the low doses of radiation received from CT scanning were initially thought to be harmless. However, evidence from atomic bomb survivors exposed to a similar level of radiation suggests that, in the long-term, it does translate into an elevated cancer risk.

The researchers estimate that in the future up to 2 percent of all malignancies in the US could be due to radiation from CT scans.

They offer three suggestions for lowering the radiation risks of CT scans: reduce the dose of CT-related radiation; replace CT scans with non-radiation imaging methods, such as MRI and ultrasound, when feasible; and reduce the total number of CT scans performed.

SOURCE: New England Journal of Medicine, November 29, 2007.

Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A father's relationship with his daughter may influence whether or not she will develop an eating disorder, researchers from Australia have found.

Girls whose fathers exerted tight control over them were more likely to develop anorexia nervosa, while low levels of paternal care increased the risk of both anorexia and bulimia nervosa, but to a lesser degree, Dr. Tracey D. Wade of Flinders University in Adelaide and colleagues found.

On the other hand, high parental expectations, usually thought of as a risk factor for anorexia, actually weren't related to the eating disorder in the researchers' analysis. However, they found, such expectations did predispose girls to developing bulimia.

These findings are reported in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

Family criticisms of a child's appearance, weight and eating behavior have been tied to eating disorders. To better understand the role of such criticism and other facets of parenting in the development of eating disorders, Wade and her team looked at 622 identical twins, including 226 pairs and 170 individuals.

In one analysis, they compared early life experiences of individual twins with depression, anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa to those of twins who were free of psychological disorders. In the second, they looked at twin pairs in which one had an eating disorder or major depression but the other didn't.

Comments from family members about how much a girl ate or her appearance were linked to a greater likelihood of both anorexia and bulimia, the researchers found. Both depressed women and those with bulimia reported higher parental expectations than their mentally healthy peers, although the relationship with bulimia was stronger. Conflict with parents and criticism by parents were related to both eating disorders and depression.

Twins with anorexia were more likely to report having overprotective, controlling fathers. Receiving little care from the father was less strongly linked to both anorexia and bulimia. The researchers found no separate influence of maternal behavior on the risk of eating disorder or depression.

"Fathers may play a unique role in the development of eating disordered behavior in their daughters compared to other psychopathologies," the researchers conclude.

The findings could be used to help target the "vulnerabilities and core beliefs" involved in therapy for eating disorders, Wade and her team say.

"For example, when working with people with anorexia nervosa it may be of relevance to tackle issues related to feeling controlled by powerful others, whereas when working with people with bulimia nervosa it may be useful to examine coping with the perceived expectations of others," they suggest.

SOURCE: International Journal of Eating Disorders, December 2007.

Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - An analysis of genealogy records linked to death certificates in Utah suggests that the risk of dying from an asthma attack is hereditary.

Dr. Craig C. Teerlink and associates at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City identified 1553 asthma-related deaths in a registry of all Utah deaths since 1904.

According to information from the Utah Population Database, the risk of dying of asthma was increased by 69 percent for first-degree relatives of people who died from asthma compared to people with no family history of asthma deaths, according to a report in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

The risk was also raised by 34 percent for second-degree relatives of asthma death cases (RR = 1.34, p = 0.003), and was even elevated, by 15 percent, among third-degree relatives.

"The results should provide further incentive for asthma (healthcare) providers to thoroughly question their patients about family history as it is a risk factor for asthma mortality," Teerlink and his associates conclude.

SOURCE: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, November 2007.

Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Infants are at the greatest risk of being killed during their first 6 months of life, especially if their parents have a previous psychiatric disorder or mental illness, study findings suggest.

An assessment of infant homicides in England and Wales found that 44 percent happened during the first 3 months of life, and 78 percent occurred during the first half year.

Sandra M. Flynn, at the University of Manchester, and colleagues further found that of the 112 people convicted of killing an infant over a 5-year period, 56 were the fathers and 35 were the mothers.

The 38 female and 74 male perpetrators were 24 and 25 years old on average.

"Seventeen perpetrators had symptoms of mental illness at the time of the offense," the researchers report in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Ten women were diagnosed with depression, and 25 men had a history of substance abuse.

"Parenting in the context of high risk behaviors and psychological illness requires proper support, understanding, and a willingness for society to take some responsibility for the needs of young, unsupported and often ill new parents," Flynn told Reuters Health.

Only six of the perpetrators had made use of mental health services during the previous year, the investigators note.

"This study highlights the need for increased perinatal assessment and parenting support," Flynn and colleagues conclude. "Parents should be encouraged to seek help and normalize their feelings without the fear of the baby being removed from their care."

SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, October 2007.

Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited.